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No. s|3,5so. lFammi Nov. l, |898.

E. cmsP. MAIL Box coLLEc'TmN AND DELIVERY.

(Appliation led July 25, 1891.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 6I3,560. Patented Nov. l, |898. J. E. CRISP.

MAIL BUX'- COLLECTIONy AND DELIVERY.

(Appncatimmed .my 25, i891.) (No Modem 4 Sheets- Sheet 2.

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No. 613,560. Patented Nov. l, |898.

J. E. CRISP.

MAIL BOX COLLECTION.V AND DELIVERY.

` (Application med July 25, 1891) (No Model.) -4 Sheets--Sheet 3.

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No. s|3,5so. Patented Nov. l, |s9a J. E. cms?.

MAIL BOX COLLECTIDN, AND DELIVERY.

(Application led July 25, 1891.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets--Sheet 4.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH E. CRISP, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO MARY E. PEIRCE AND SARAH B. CRISP, OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,560, dated November 1, 1898.

Application iled Cl'uly 25 1891. Serial No. 400,690. (No model.)

.To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. CRISP, of Somerville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail- Box Collection and Delivery, of which the fol lowing specification, with the accompanying drawings, is such a full, clear, and exact description thereof as will enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention.

The object of this invention is to produce a mail-box which will receive from or deliver to the route-carrier its full capacityv of mailmatter, consisting of letters, cards, papers, pamphlets, ordinary sized packages, &c., and which will at the same time reduce to a minimum the labor of the carrier.

It consists in making the mail-box with doors preferably opposite each other and pro-- viding these doors with suitable connecting mechanism, so that mail-matter introduced into the box through either of these doors must be removed from the box through the other of said doors.

It also consists in arranging the operating mechanism so that the principal amount of the time and labor of operating the doors will fall upon the owner of the box, with a corresponding gain to the route-carrier.

In thedrawings, Figure I is a perspective view of the box having the carriers door located thereon. Fig. 2 is an inside elevation of the carriers door, showing the clip for exposing mail to be collected to the carriers view and the automatic mechanism operated by said clip for locking said door. Fig. 3 shows details of the key. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation of that part of the carriers door having the lock. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cam and clip for the carriers door. Fig. Gis a perspective view of the slide D2 and its associate parts. Fig. 7 is a horizontal crosssection of the box on line y vy, showing the mechanism by which the owners door is automatically locked after ,mail has been deposited by the owner, also showing the keyhole and drain-holes in the bottom of the box. Fig. 8 is a horizontal cross-section of the lower part of the box on line 0c looking toward the bottom, showing the locking mechanism with both doors closed -and locked.

Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-section showing the lock plate with the owners key inserted. Fig. 10 is across-section showing the carriers door open with the key in position. Fig. 1l is a like view showing the owners door opened.

Y The body of the box A is made with two doorways, preferably upon opposite sides thereof. In these doorways are hung the doors B and C, so that they will swing upon the rods A', and around the rods are the springs A2, which close the doors. The rods A pass up from the bottom of the box through suitable lugs formed upon or attached to the inside of the box, above and below the doorways. The part of the doors which swings outward closes into a rabbet on the box, and the part of the doors which swings inside the box closes against the inside of the box, so that the doors close substantially'water-tight, Fig. 11. Should any water pass between the edge of the doorway and the back joint, it passes under the lock-plate and out of the drain-holes A7 in the bottom of the box.

Above the door C there is hung a narrow door A3, through which letters or cards may be placed in the box when the doors B and C are both locked, Fig. 1, and a like narrow door is hung on the door B. This door is provided with the lifting-handle A4 and is also springclosed. The doors B and C are glazed, so that the contents of the box can be observed from either side, and should the box be set in a house-door leading into a dark hallway it will be illuminated from the outside.

A plate D forms the bottom ofthe box, upon which mail-matter rests. This plate is held in position by the rods A', which pass through it. On its under side and to the lower part of the doors B and C is attached the locking and connecting mechanism used for mail-receiving purposes, constructed and operating as follows: In a dovetail guideway D', properly located upon the lock-plate'D, there is fitted the slide D2. To the slide D2 there is secu red the piece D3, so that it will engage with the curved arm B', attached to the door B, when said door is closed, Figs. 7 and 9, the contacting parts of the piece D3 and the arm B' being at such an angle that the opening of the door B will move the slide D2 to its backward limit of motion, Fig. l0. The rear end IOO of the slide D2 is angular, and when the slide is moved back this angular end will engage with a segmental piece C', attached to the door C, Figs. S and lO. The segmental piece C is formed of two segments of diiferent diameters, joined by the incline C2, against which the rear end of the slide D2 rests when fully back, and when the door C is opened the incline C2 will move the slide D2 to its forward limit of motion, Fig. 8, and the segment will hold the door B closed by holding the angular side of the piece D2 Iixed against the inclined end of' the curved arm B', as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings.

To lock the door B, the slide D2 is held at its forward limit of motion by the stationary bolt E, formed in one piece with the back spring E and secured to the lock-plate at D4 by the screw E2. This screw holds E and E in correct line, but leaves them to swing free upon it as the lock is operated. The back spring E acts upon a detent D5, formed upon the piece D3, and the end of the stationary bolt E engages with the abutment D5, also formed upon said piece, Figs. 8 and ll. This prevents the backward movement of the slide D2 until the stationary bolt E is sprung to register with the recess D7, formed in the piece D3, when the door B can be opened and the slide D2 moved backward. To move the stationary bolt E into line with the recess D7, the swinging cam F is mounted upon the lock-plate at D2. This cam has two steps, upon one of which, F, the stationary bolt F. rests when its end is opposite the abutment D5, Fig. '7, and upon the other, F2, when opposite the recess D7, Fig. 8. These steps also act as detents to keep the cam F in either of its positions. There is also fixed in the lockplate the stoppin F2 to limit the throw of the cam F.

To swing the cam from either step to the other, it is provided with the slot F4, into which the web of the owners key Gr enters and swings the cam as desired.

W'hen the door B opens into a house or other safe place, the stationary bolt E may be left resting upon the step F2 by turning the key G completely around and withdrawing it from the keyhole G', thus leaving the door B free to open at any time except when' the door C is open. The keyhole G' is located at the bottom of the box, and the key turns principally upon the spindle G2, Figs. 8, 9, and ll.

The carrier-s door C islocked and unlocked automatically as follows: To the door C is secured the short arm C2, which will just clear the outer end of the slide D2 when said slide is at the end of its forward motion, Fig. l1. This short arm is provided with the catch C4, which will engage with the spring-bolt D9 when the door C is closed by its spring and there lock it. The spring-bolt D9 is fitted to the outer end of the slide D2, from which it is pressed forward by the spring D10, and its forward motion is limited by the stop-pin D,

working in the slot D12, so that when the slide D2 is drawn fully back the spring-bolt D is just clear of the catch C4. The slide D2 is in fact a sliding lock-case carrying a springbolt, so far as relates to the door C.

Opening the door B automatically withdraws the bolt D9 from the catch O4, and opening the door C automatically moves the spring-bolt D9 into position to lock said door when its spring closes it.

The segmental piece C' is provided ywith the spring-catch C5, which engages with the rear end of the slide D2 when the door C is wide open and there holds it.

To keep the door C closed whenever the door B is open, there is hung upon the lockplate the swinging catch F5, whose spring Ffi throws it into connection with a catch C, formed on the arm C2, Fig. ll. A pin B2, properly located upon the curved arm B', contacts with the projection F7 of the swinging catch F5 and just pushes the catches apart when the door B is fully closed, Figs. S and l1.

From the foregoing description of the construction and operation it will be seen that the operation of this box for mail delivery is automatic so far as relates to the route-carrier and that while the box is given the largest possible receiving capacity and safety the locking and unlocking of the carriers door is transferred to the owner of the box, with a saving of the carriers time.

The action of this box for mail delivery is as follows: The owner with his key unlocks his door and opens it, removing the mail. This moves the sliding lock-case D2 and unlocks the carrier-s door from the bolt D. The spring A2 closes the owners door, which moves apart the catches F5 and C, leaving the carriers door free to open, with the box empty. The route-carrier by the knob of the door C opens it back so that the catch C5 will hold it open, at the same time locking the owners door B. The carrier deposits the mail within the box and pushes the door C clear of the catch C5. The spring A2 closes it, and the spring-bolt D9 locks it, leaving the mail locked within the box, from which i' can only be removed by the use of the owners key. The whole of the carriers movements can be per formed with the hand holding the mail to be deposited. y

When there is mail placed in the box for collection, the doors B and C are locked, so that they can only be opened by the carrier. This is performed automatically by the owner as he places the mail or a portion of it under a clip which holds the mail exposed to the carriers view, in case he has no mail to deliver, when he passes near the box. For this purpose a lock-bolt H is fitted to slide free in bearings H and H2, formed upon or attached to the inside of the carriers door C, near the top, Fig. 2. Hung upon one of the rods A' so that it will swing behind the bolt H is the cam H5, which carries the clip Hl. A spring H5 holds the end of the clip against the in- IIO traten Y e side of the door C, and when the clip is drawn out to the position shown by Figs. 2, 4, and bolt H is fully shot by the cam H5 and the door C is locked.

The doors, it will be seen, may have their mutual interaction changed from the abovedescribed normal operating condition to a condition wherein the locking devices are set to be serially operated by the movement of said doors. They may afterward be returned to normal operating condition. When serially operating, the mere closing of either of the doors unlocks the other, and when one door is opened the other is tightly locked and becomes a closed back for the box.

To prevent the action of centrifugal force from throwing the bolt H out when the door C is closed by its spring, a light spring H5 is placed around the bolt H, as shown. A tumbler H7, formed from a round pin of two different sizes, is fitted to slide free in the bearing H. The smaller end of this tumbler rests in the groove HS, formed in the bolt H, when said bolt is back, and drops into the hole H9 and holds the bolt H firm when it is shot forward, as shown by Fig. 4. The tumbler H7 is connected to the sliding pin K by the cross-pin K', which passes through the larger parts of both tumbler and sliding pin, so that the raising of the sliding pin will also raise the lower end of the tum bler out of the hole H9 and allow the bolt H to be withdrawn. The sliding pin K is provided with an upper bearing H70, and around the larger part of the sliding pin, between the bearing H10 and the cross-pin K', is placed the spring K2, which causes the tumbler H7l to drop quickly when the bolt H is shot forward.

The keyhole L' is made rectangular, its height being from the point of the sliding pin K to the bottom of the incline H71, formed in the bolt H, and its width sufficient to yallow the key to give the desired backward movement to the bolt H. The upper part of the bolt H is provided with the incline H11, which is located with reference to the keyhole L, when the bolt is shot, as shown by Fig. 4.

The key is formed of two parts M and M', provided with the handles M2. These parts are joined together by and swing around the pin M5, a spring M4 and stop-pin M6 holding the key ready for use in the position shown by Fig. 3. The part of the key M is made with the bevel-ended stud MG upon it, and the part M is made with inclined edge M7,

as shown by Fig. 3, the distance of the stud from the end of the key being such that when the end of the key rests against the bottom of the keyhole the stud MG will register with the lower end of the` sliding pin K, the thickness of the parts of the key being such when in this position that the inclined edge M7 of the part M' of the key will just meet the commencement of the incline of the bolt H. Pressing together the handles M2 causes the stud M6 to raise the tumbler and release the bolt H, when the incline M7, acting upon the incline H11, withdraws the bon n. The key is held in the keyhole by the stud M5 and serves as a handle to swing the door C.

open to the catch C5 when the handles are released and the spring M4 brings the key to its normal position in the keyhole. The closing of the door C by its spring throws the key from the keyhole, leaving it upon the carriers chain ready for use in the next box of' his route in which there is locked mail for collection.

It will be seen that by varying the length of the stud M5 and the angle of its end and making the end of the sliding pin K to coincide therewith these locks can be varied as desired and each route have its master-key which will not be of use on any other. The swinging out of the clip H4 also brings a spring-catch N into position to engage with the catch B3, fixed on the door B, as shown by Fig. 7 in this manner.

rlhe spring-catch N is pivoted to a bearing A5 by the pin A5, and its end N is extended across the box, so that when the bolt H is shot the outer end of the bolt will swing the catch out, using for a fulcrum the spiral spring N2, as will be understood. The hole in the spring-catch N through which the pin A5 passes is slightly enlarged or slotted, and when the door B is closed the spring N2 gives and the catches N and B5 will engage and lock the door B. When the bolt H is withdrawn by the carriers key, the springN2, acting against the spring-catch N, with the pin A5 as a fulcrum, disengages the catches, and the door B can then be opened by the owner of the box.

From the foregoing it will be seen, first, that the owners act of throwing the clip-lever H4, and thus exposing against the carriers door mail for collection to the view of the carrier, automatically locks the doors B and C, so that the box can only be opened by the carriers key; second, that the carriers act of depositing mail for the owner of the box and thereafter closing his door automatically locks the doors B and C, so that the box can only be opened by the oWners key; third, that the act of the owner unlocking his door and thereafter closing the same without throwing the clip-lever H4 automatically unlocks and leaves open the carriers door ready for another delivery into the box; fourth, that all mail-matter intended for the owner of the box must pass through it in one direction and all mail-matter intended for the carrier must pass through it in the opposite direction; fifth, that the principal amount of,

time and labor of operating the box falls upon the owner, who will not notice it the few times he has to visit it, and makes a slight saving of time and labor to the carrier per box, whichl in the aggregatewill be considerable.

This box may be placed in the most convenient place for the carrier-on a tree or post, in a fence, or in ahouse-door. In the latter place the rigidity of either door when the ICO other is open or being opened rendersit impossible to pass any injurious mattei' into the house, which is a valuable feature of this invention, and, wherever placed, the construction of the box renders it substantially weather-proof.

Having thus described my invention, I `claim and desire to secure by Letters Pateutl. A mail receiving and collecting box provided with serving-doors for the owner and carrier, mutually-interacting locking devices for each of said doors and means whereby the locking devices may be set to be serially oplerated by the movement of said doors, substantially as described.

2. A mail receiving and collecting box provided with serving-doors for the owner and carrier, mutually-interactin g locking devices for each of said doors and operated by their serial movement and additional locking devices for the carriers door and means whereby, when said additional locking device is operated, both doors may be locked and then returned to normal operating condition by the carrier, substantially as described.

3. A mail receiving and collecting box, provided with serving-doors for the owner and carrier, mutually-interacting locking devices for said doors, operated by their serial movement, and additional locking devices for the owners door which lock said door until returned to normal operating condition by the owner, and leave the carriers door unlocked substantially as described.

4. A mail receiving and collecting box provided with swinging doors for the owner and carrier, mutually-interacting lookin g devices for each of said doors, and additional locking devices for the carriers door and means whereby when said additional device is operated, both doors may be locked, and other means whereby when the owners door is closed, the carriers door will be unlocked, substantially as described. y

5. In a mail receiving and collecting box, provided with swinging doors for the owner and carrier, the combination of clip H4, a locking device and connected mechanism mounted on the carriers door, and a locking device for the owners door mounted on one of the sides of the box and which is moved into position to automatically lock the owners door, when it is closed, after the clip H4, has been operated, substantially as described.

6. In combination withamail receiving and collecting box with doors for the owner and carrier mounted on opposite sides of the box, whose normal position is closed, a reciprocating slide carrying a spring-operated lockingbolt, a suitable guideway therefor, connecting mechanism between said doors and said slide, substantially as described, to reciprocate said slide in opposite directions as said doors are alternately opened, substantially as shown and described.

7. In combination with a mail receiving and elaseo collecting box with doors for the owner and carrier mounted on opposite sides of the box whose normal position is closed, the door B, carrying and operating the curved arm B', the door C carrying and operating the segment C', the slide D2, and the piece D3, all substantially as described.

8. In combination with a mail receiving and collecting box with doors for the owner and carrier mounted on opposite sides of the box, Whose normal position is closed, fa reciprocating slide carrying a spring locking-catch, mechanism substantially as described for reciprocating said slide by the opening of said doors, and cam-andebolt mechanism substantially as described, for allowing or arresting the reciprocation of said slide for the purpose set forth.

9. A mail receiving and collecting box with doors for the owner and carrier mounted on opposite sides of the box, whose normal position is closed, locking devices for each of said doors, connecting mechanism between said locking devices and the other of said doors, which is operated at the commencement of the opening of either of said doors to lock the other of said doors and cause such door to form a xed back to said box when either door is open or being opened, substantially as shown and described.

l0. In a mail receiving and collecting box having spring-closed doors for the owner and carrier mounted on opposite sides of the box, whose normal position is closed, locking devices for each of said doors, connecting mechanism substantially as described between said locking devices and the other of said doors, in combination with the spring-catch C mounted upon the segment C of the door C and the reciprocating slide D2, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

1l. In combination with a mail receiving and collecting box with doors for the owner and carrier mounted on opposite sides of the box, whose normal position is closed, the door B carrying the catch B3, the spring-catch N, mounted upon one of the sides of said box between said doors, and operating mechanism therefor substantially as described mounted upon the door C, all substan tially as shown and described.

l2. In combination with a mail receiving and collecting box having spring-closed doors for the owner and carrier mounted on opposite sides of the box, whose normal position is closed, a bolt for the carriers door, which is shot through the owners door, and a combined key and handle for opening said carriers door formed of two levers pivotally connected and spring-closed, operating substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

13. A mail receiving and collecting box,provided with swing-doors for the owner and carrier, mutually-interacting, locking devices for each of said doors, an additional device for the carriers door and means whereby IOO IIO

When said additional device is operated, both doors may be locked, and other means Wherevided With a key-operated door for the owner, and a key-operated door for the carrier, mu- I5 wally-interacting locking devices for each of said doors, and means substantially as described whereby mail-matter introduced through either of said doors must be removed through the other of said doors, substantially zo as described.

JOS. E. CRISP.

Vitnesses:

MINNIE M. WALLING, MARY E. WOODBURN. 

